Nebraska Charlie

Museum Catalog Note This 1892 Beadle and Adams dime novel, issue No. 428, features "The Adventurous Life of Nebraska Charlie" by Col. Prentiss Ingraham. The serial follows young Charlie Burgess and his blond-haired brother Eddie as they journey across the Nebraska Territory. In Chapter I, "The Prairie Raiders," the boys detect armed men approaching their prairie camp and hide in a tree. They recognize the lead attacker as an escaped murderer they'd seen at Fort Kearney and shoot down two raiders, wound a third, and capture the fourth along with the gang's horses. They deliver the prisoners to authorities and receive reward money. Chapter II, "In the Hands of Cruel Foes," describes an Indian attack on a settlement where the brothers are staying. Charlie escapes into a cellar but is captured and tied to a mustang for transport to a distant village. He discovers Eddie survived as a prisoner of a renegade white chief. Charlie, separated from his brother, adapts strategically to his captivity under Chief Red Buffalo.